Booth foe voting machines



(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 2.

J. BOMA.

BOOTH POR VOTING MACHINES.

Patented Sept. 28,1897.

No. 590,942. l

tes? Zz ...y

o.. wAsmNGToN n c (No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 3,

J. BOMA.

BOOTH POR VOTING MACHINES. No. 590,942. Patented Sep'. 28,1897.

./// m@ @mz 1 f E 7 @d A H u v|.| A /M/ f f 1 m mfm (No Model.) 4 sheets-sneer 4.

AJ.v BOMA.

BOOTH POR VOTING MACHINES. NO. 590,942. Patented Sept. 28,1897.

Ntra STATES PATENT Fries.

JOHN BOMA, OF ROCHESTER, NElY YORK, ASSIGNOR TO THE NATIONAL VOTING MACHINE COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

BOOTH FOR VOTING-MACHINES.

SPECFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 590,942, dated September 28, 1897.

Application filed J' une 28, 189 71 To all whom, t may concern:

Beit known that I, JOHN ROMA, of Rochester, in the county of Monroe and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Booths for Voting-Machines, which improvement is fully set forth in the following specification and shown in the accompanying drawings.

The object of my invention is to produce an improved inclosure or booth for votingmachines, the same being hereinafter fully described, and more particularly pointed out in the claims. y

Referring to the drawings, Figure l is a front elevation of my improved booth. Fig. 2 is a side elevation seen as indicated by arrows 2 in Figs. i and et, showing the side door which when opened reveals the result of the voting. Fig. 3 is aview of the partition seen as indicated by arrows 3 in Figs. l and i, the walls of the booth being vertically'sectioned, as on the dotted line at the point ot' the arrow in Fig. l. Fig. et is a plan of the booth seen as indicated by arrow i in Fig. l. Fig. 5 is an interior view of parts of the device seen as in Fig. 3, parts being broken away and the two opposite walls of the booth vertically sectioned. Fig. G is a plan ot' parts seen as indicated by arrow G in Fig. 5. Fig. 7 is a plan of some of the working parts, the walls being horizontally sectioned as on the dotted line 7 7 in Fig. l, parts being shown in two positions by full and dotted lines. Fig. 8 is a horizontal section of a portion of the door, taken on the dotted line S in Fig. 9, with associated parts. Fig. i) is an interior view, parts being vertically sectioned as on the dot ted line 9 9 in Fig. 6 and viewed as indicated by arrow pointed thereon and arrow 9 in Fig. 4. Fig. l() is a plan of parts of the device, the main door being horizontally sectioned as on the dotted line l0 in Fig. 9 and other parts horizontallysectioned as on the dotted lines l0' in Figs. l and 9. Fig. ll is a plan, parts of the device being horizontally sectioned as on the dotted line il ll in Fig. 9, parts being shown in two positions by full and dotted lines. Fig. 12 is an outside elevation of the upper part of the booth seen as indicated by arrow 2 in Fig. l, a part of the side door being broken away. Figs. l to f-i,

Serial No. 642,698. (No model.)

inclusive, are drawn to a scale one-twentieth full size, Figs. 5, 6, 7, 9, and l2 are drawn to a scale oneseventh full size, and Figs. S, 10, and ll are drawn to a scale one-half full size.

Referring to the drawings, the booth shown is rectangular in plan, inclosing or comprising two apartments A B', separated by a partition C', Figs. 4 and G, the former apartment being occupied by the voter While voting and the latter apartment holding the voting-ma chine E. The partition C is not continuous, but is preferably formed of two parts, as shown in Fig. G, in which the one to the right is thinner than and slightly out of line with the other or main portion that is shown to the left. The outer walls and partition of the booth are preferably made of light wood, though sheet metal may be used for the purpose.

The booth is without I'loor and provided with a main door D, Figs. l, 3, 7, 9, lO, and ll, serving to close a passage through the front wall H into the apartment A. This door also when swung inward to place serves to close an opening through the partition or wall C of the apartment B', forming temporarily a part of said partition or wall and covering an essential part of the voting-machine. The walls H and C are at right angles with each other, and the openings through them are alike as to size, so that the door [ills and closes either one equally well when swung to either place, each opening forming a seat for the door. The booth is also formed with a smaller side door F, Figs. 2 and l2, serving to close an opening through the outer side wall N of the apartment B'.

The voting-machine E in the apartment B may be of any kind-as, for instance, one in which the swinging of the main door D performs an essential part of the operation of voting-the machine shown being the same fully illustrated and described in my pending application for patent, Serial No. 638,950, iiled June l, 1897. The iron frameB of the machine is inclosed in a thicker wooden frame O, which is secured by simple fasteners t, Figs. 5 and G, to the wall N.

Normally when the booth is being used at an election the door D occupies its place in the wall or partition C to cover and inclose IOO the voting-machine, which leaves a 'l'ree entrance for a voter into the apartment A. lVhen a voter enters said apartment for the purpose of voting, he immediately swings the door from its place in said partition C' to its place in the front wall H'. This swinging of the door in the 'lirst instance uncovers the voting mechanism, giving the voter free access to the same, andin the second instance closes the booth to outsiders, so that he may, in secret, operate the voting-machine to record his vote. The door thus has two functions. It serves in one case to close the apartment B and cover the voting-machine and `inthe other case to close the booth as a whole.

The door is provided with an ordinary lock with knobs a a and latch-bolt l), Figs. l, 0, and ll. The door is also secured or locked in its inner closed position in the wall C by a long horizontal latch-bolt c, Figs. 7, S, and 9, inaccessible to the voter in the apart-ment A. This latch-bolt is operated by means of an ex ternal knob d, Figs. l, S, l0, and ll, operated by the attendant of the booth on the outside o't` the latter. This knob carries a bolt c, (clearly shown in Fig. 10,) extending horizontally through the wall Il of the booth into the apartment B. The latch-bolt c is just above the bolt c', and it is formed with an outwardly-extended part f', extending at its outer end over the bolt c when the door is swung to the partition C, as clearly shown in Fig. ll. The bolt c is provided with a vertical pin g', (see also Fig. 9,) back of which the part f passes when the door occupies its said position.

The outer end ol' the part f is slanted at its rear side so as to'readily glide in back of the pin g to the position shown in Fig. ll,

the bolt c slightly yielding back to allow the part f to pass the pin. Now if the knob d be pulled outward, as indicated by dotted lines, the latch-bolt c will be drawn out of its socket 71, in the wall C and so release the door. The bolt e. is held normally inwardly by an ordinary spring c', Fig. lO, and when a voter enters the apartment A the attendant at the outside pulls the knob CZ to release the door to enable the voter to swing it, as above described. The part f' of the latch-bolt c being back of the pin g does not impede the swinging of the door away from the wall C', as the beginning ot the motion of the door is straight to the right (see Fig. ll) or away from the pin, and a very slight springing or yielding of the parts serves to release them.

The latch-bolt c is provided with a rigid block "i, held by a fastener 711, Figs. S and 9, occupying a horizontal cavity in the door D. lVithin this cavity is a spring Z, which, bearing against the block, tends to hold the latchbolt normally in its extended position, so as to enter the socket 71., the pulling of the knob (Z outward, as above described, to release the door being done against the action of this spring.

In this invention the swinging of the main door is designed to play an essential part in operating the mechanism ol? the voting-ina chine. lly means of suitable intermediate mechanism it returns all of the parts of the voting-machine to their normal positions al?- tcr they have been manipulated or moved by a voter, an( sets the machine for the use of the next voter. A lever E, Figs. il, 5, and t3, is employed above the voting-machine to operate the latter, connected by a rod f and arm g with a shaft D. This shaft is adapted to move bars C in vertical directions which act to move the operating parts of the votingmachi-ne, as fully shown and described in my said pending application. The parts A l) t? D L and cj" g here shown correspond with the parts referred to by the same letters in said pending application.

Upon the inside ol the doei' D is secured a rest on, Figs. and 9, holding a horizontal arm n., reaching through the partition C into the apartment D. The arm n. operates a bell-crank lever 0, held to turn on a rest p, rigid with the wall ll of the booth. The outer end of the bellcrank is connected with the lever E by means of a rod r, so that when the door is swung upon its hinges it operates the lever E to move the working' parts ol` the voting mechanism-that is to say, when the door is swung to its place in the partition C it pulls the lever E downward and so raises the bars C to return the parts ol the voting mechanism to their normal positions, and. when the door is swung lo the Vlront wall ll of the booth it serves to depress the bars C and so set the voting mechanism Vfor t-he use of a voter.

Now as swingiirg` the door D puts the voting-machine in order for the use ol a voter, such voter, after having entered the apart ment A and voted, might with fraudulent intent open the door under somepretense, as asking the outside attendant a question, and then close it again, and thus be afforded an opportunity to repeat his vote. To prevent this, I employ a notched bar s, Figs. 7, 9, lO, and ll, connected with the door and so controlled as to prevent the door beingswung in a manner to make it possible lor a second vote to be recorded by the voter within. This notched bar is held by a holder or rest f, se cured to the door, with its free end passing through a slotted guide or rest u, secured to the front wall Il ot' the booth. This guide is pierced by the bolt c, the outer slanting end of the bolt being near the opening fr in the guide through which the bar s passes, the latter being formed with a tooth or shoulder u in position to be engaged by the bolt, as shown. This tooth or shoulder is located upon the bar so as to be engaged by the bolt when the door is turned through about fortyive degrees of arc from either of the walls H or C. Thus when the dooris swung back from the partition C' through an are ot' i'ortyfive degrees, more or less, the boltwill catch the tooth 2c and prevent the Vfurther swing- ICO llO

ing of the door in that direction until the bar s is released by the knob d being pulled outward, as above described. This prevents the door being swung through a distance necessary for resetting the machine for another vote and prevents the possibility of a second vote being recorded until the door has been swung practically from one closed position to the other.

Furthermore, the construction and arrangement of the parts are such that the door acts upon the mechanism connecting it with the voting-machine only while swinging through a part of the way between itstwo extreme or closed positions, it idling or doing nothing to said mechanism while passing through the other parts of its swings. 0n account of this the door may be swung through a considerable distance back from either wall H or C' without in any way affecting the voting-machine. This allows the attendant on the outside to partially open the door when closed against the wall H and pass into the apartment A to examine the voting-machine, should anything go wrong, without working the machine. It also aids to prevent a voter from voting twice in quick succession, for after having voted once if he should attempt to swing the door for the purpose of putting the machine in position for voting` again it would be caught by the bar s, as above described,and prevented from swinging through a distance necessary for setting the machine for another vote. This I accomplish by elongating the opening Fig. 9, in the arm n, which receives the pin y of the bell-crank o. IVhen the door is in the position shown in the wall H', the pin is at the left inthe opening or slot Qc. Now if the door be swung away from the wall the arm n will be moved toward the left, but the bell-crank will not be moved until the right-hand part of the slot or opening reaches the pin. The distance through which the door may thus swing without acting upon the bell-crank depends upon the length of the slot or opening, which may be determined to suit circumstances, provided always that sumcient motion be given the bell-crank for the purpose intended.

The door needs to be swung practically home to its place in the wall C to return the parts of the voting-machine to their normal places, and to its place in the wall H to set the machine for another vote. When the dooris with the wall H', it may be swung away therefrom some distance without acting on the machine, its effective work being'accomplished only when moving through the latter part of its swing toward the wall C, and when the door is with the wall C it may be swung some distance away therefrom without acting on the machine, its effective work being accomplished only while moving through the latter part of its swing toward the wall H. Swinging the door against the partition or wall C returns the parts of the machine to their normal places, as has been stated, but no part of the machine could then be voted, even if accessible to the voter, for although the parts of the machine are in their normal positions they are not yet at liberty to be moved. The door needs to be swung back to the wall H to leave the parts of the machine free to move. Then a voter enters the apartnient A and closes the door after him against the wall H', the machine is ready for him to vote, and after voting he swings the door from said wall to its place against the wall C', which makes the booth ready for the next voter.

In using the voting-machine shown and described in my pending application above referred to the voter stands on one side of the same to manipulate the parts to record his vote, while upon the other side of the machine the result of the voting is shown by figures. It is the former side of the machine that is adjacent to and covered by the door D in my.

present invention, and the latter side of the machine that is opposite and covered by the side door F. (Shown in Figs. 1 and l2.) NowA by opening the door F, which is normally shut and securely locked at the close of an election the result of the voting may be at once read off from the machine.

One aim in designing this booth is to so construct it that it may be taken apart and packed in small compass for the purpose of storing during periods between elections. To accomplish this, I make the sides or outer walls I and K, Fig. 4, and a part H of the front wall removable from the other walls of the booth. The walls H, C', P, and N, inclosing the apartment B, are rigid together, the door D being hinged to the wall II at the junction of said wall and the wall C', and when the detachable walls are removed said door is swung to its place in the wall C and securely locked.

In packing the booth for storage the removable walls are detached and all parts laid together. The part or piece S is used for architectural effect and for the purpose of being lettered with the name of the inventor, manufacturer, or otherwise, and is detachable from the parts H H of the front wall. The line of parting of the walls K and P is at d, Figs. 4 and 6, and the line of parting between the walls H and H is at h', Figs. l, 4, and 6. The detachable walls are connected with each other and with the part inclosing the machine by simple fasteners or hooks z, Figs. 5, 6, and 9. Then the booth is set up for use, these walls or sides are hooked to place to form the complete booth comprising the two apartments A B', hereinbefore described.

IVhat I claim as my invention isl. A booth for a voting-machine, having an apartment to be occupied by the voter, and

another apartment for containing the votingmachine, with a partition between the apartments formed with a doorway through it., and a door to close said doorway, a fastener to IIO hold the door in its closed position, and means to unfasten the door from outside of the walls of the booth, substantially as specified.

A booth for a voting-machine, having an interior partition with a doorway through said lntrtition, and a doorway through an outer wall of the booth, and a door' held by the booth adapted to close eitherof said doorways, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. A booth for a voting-machine, having an apartment to be occupied by the voter, and another apa-rtment for contai ning the votingmachine, with a partition between the apartments formed with a doorway through it, and a doorway through the adjacent outer wall of the booth, and a door held by the booth adapted to close either oi said doorways, and a window opening into the apartment occupied by the voter, substantially as described.

Ll. A booth for \f*otingmachines, having an apartment to be occupied by the voter, and another apartment for containing the votingmachine, with a partition between the apartments formed with a doorway through it, and a doorway leading from without into the apartment occ u pied by the voter, and a door adapted to close either of said doorways, and a door leading from without in to the apartment containing the voting-machine, si'ibstantially as shown and described.

A booth for voting-machines, having an interior partition, and a doorway through said partition and through the outer wall of the booth, and a door adapted to close either of said doorways, and means for holding` the door between said doorways, substantially as shown and described.

G. A booth for voting-machines, having an interiorpartition, and a doorway thro ugh said partition and through the outer wall of the booth, and a door adapted to close either of said doorways, and means for holding the door between said doorways and for releasing the door from outside of the walls ol the booth, substantially as described.

7. A booth for a voting-machine, having a door, anda lever for operating the votingmachine, and connectors for said door and lever whereby when the door is swung the lever will be turned upon its fulcrum, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

S. A booth for a voting-machine, having an `interior partition, and a doorway or-opening through said partition and through the adjacent outer wall of the booth, and a door adapted to close either of said openings, and a lever for operating the voting-machine, and connectors for said door and lever whereby when the door is moved to close one of said openings the lever will be turned in one direction, and when moved to close the other of said openings the lever will be moved in the opposite direction, substantially as specihed.

9. A booth for a voting-machine, having an interior partition, and an opening through said partition and through the outer wall oi.' the booth, and a door adapted to close either of said openings, and a lever for operating the voting-machine, and connectors for said door and lever whereby when the door is moved to close one of said openings the lever will be turned in one direction, and when moved to close the other of said openings the lever will be moved in the opposite direct-ion, and means for causing` the door to act upon the lever only while swinging through a pari. of the distance between said openings, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

lO. A booth for a voting-machine, having an interior partition, and a door adapted to swing against said partition and also against an outer wall of the booth, and mechanism connected with the door for operating said voting-machine, and means for causing the door to actuate said mechanism during the latter part only of its swinging motion in either direction, substantially as shown and described.

ll. A booth forvoting-machines,havingan interior partition and a door adapted to swing against said partition and also against the outer wall of the booth, a sliding bolt upon the door for locking it against the partition, a bolt through the wall ot' the booth, the inner end of which is provided with a catch and an extended part upon the sliding bolt for engaging with the catch, substantially as set forth.

l2. A booth for voting-machines, having an interior slotted partition and a door adapted to swing against said partition and also against the outer wall ofthe booth, a sliding bolt upon the doei', one end of which is adapted to engage with the partition and the other end is provided with an extended part, ada pted to extend through the slot ot' the partition, a spring-actuated bolt through the wall oi' the booth, the inner end of which is provided with a pin adapted to engage with the eltteuded part of the sliding boit, whereby the sliding bolt Vis unlocked from the partition when the other bolt is drawn out, substantially as set forth.

13. A booth for voting-machines, having an interior partition and a door adapted to swing against said partition and also against the outer wall of the booth, a slotted guide upon the wall of the booth adjacent to the hinge el.' the door, a bar pivotally secured to the door, the free end ot which is notched and adapted to slide through the guide, a bolt through the wall of the booth, the inner end of which is adapted to engage with the notched portion of the bar and prevent the swinging ot' the door from the partition to the outer wall ol` the booth, and means connected with the door for operating the voting mechanism only aft-er the bar has been released from the bolt, substantially as set forth.

l-t. Abooth for voting-machines, having an interior partition and a door adapted to swing IOO ` Connecting the end door with the Voting meehanism, substantially as set forth. v

In Witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand, this 22d day of June, 1897, in the presenoe of two subscribing witnesses.

JOHN BOMA. XVitneSSes:

ENOS B. WHICrivroian, M. L. WINSTON. 

